Mother Nature has put us on notice

Focus on the inadequacy of the emergency response to Superstorm Sandy misses one basic point. We allow the utility companies a franchise to supply the services we need. There are obvious reasons why this works but we should at the same time demand they protect the infrastructure, our infrastructure, with "the best technology available."

They certainly charge us as if they do.

Amortizing the actual cost of emergency responses over the last 10 years, including emergency crews from out of state, and projecting those costs forward 20 years, I wonder how it would balance with a comprehensive plan to protect delivery lines in the first place? All arguments about why we can't do this basically come down to "it's too expensive." I say it's too expensive not to in the long run.

In this past storm, areas which lost power on underground systems were up and running in about half the time than those areas with above-ground service. The cost of this lost revenue alone should account for a large part of the savings over time spent on securing our critical infrastructure from future disasters.

Consider, if I as a homeowner have a tree on my property overhanging my neighbor's garage and it suddenly comes crashing down, the result is described "an act of God," right?

If, however, my neighbor has previously written me expressing his concern about the tree, then I'm "on notice" and the game changes significantly. Mother Nature has put us on notice.

J.C. Brotherhood

Nyack

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Mother Nature has put us on notice

Focus on the inadequacy of the emergency response to Superstorm Sandy misses one basic point. We allow the utility companies a franchise to supply the services we need.

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